A Spy in the House

Mary graduates from Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls with admirable skills, including being an undercover investigator. Working in the guise of a lady's companion, she infiltrates a merchant's home to try to trace his missing cargo ships. She then finds that that household is full of dangerous secrets.

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Once a student, orphan Mary Quinn is now a teacher herself at Miss Scrimshaw's Academy for Girls in London, 1858. When one of the head teachers offers her a mysterious post in a spy agency, Mary jumps at the opportunity to take on a role with much excitement potential. Her first assignment is ostensibly tame: to become a paid companion to a Miss Angelica Thorold, a teenager whose wealthy family is suspected of having ties to international smuggling, in hopes that Mary will overhear important business conversations.

I was wholly charmed by this first in a historical mystery series, and have already requested the second book. In a time where even intelligent women are expected to be acquiescent and simpering, Mary is capable, smart and spirited in her investigative efforts.

The first book in The Agency series about a young orphan girl named Mary Quinn living in Victorian England. Life was very hard for poor young women then and Mary has had to be very strong to survive. After being saved from the gallows, Mary is lucky to go to school and eventually become a spy for an all woman agency then the excitement really begins! A great book! Looking forward to more.

A fast-paced mystery set in 1850's London, with clever dialogue, a sassy heroine, and plenty of intrigue. The author flips most gender conventions of the day on their heads to bring us an all-female spy agency, so there is plenty of a feminist undercurrent running through this book for those who enjoy a bit of a twist to their historical fiction. One of my favorites of the year, by far!

I thought this was a pretty enjoyable (series-opening) YA Victorian mystery. The fact that the mystery itself isn't the absolute MOST compelling lowered my rating a bit, but I thought that Mary was a really interesting heroine, there's a good (veeeery subtle/slow-burning) romantic subplot that I'm assuming will get more play in later volumes, and there was a lot of really interesting historical detail woven in without feeling forced or like it got in the way of the plot. It also offers an interesting (and refreshing, for a historical mystery) bit of a glimpse of racial politics in the 1850s, another theme which I look forward to seeing more of in the rest of the books. The world Lee has constructed here is a really promising one; I'm just hoping the other mysteries in the series are a tiny bit more exciting.

Very similar to Secret Letters by Leah Scheier. You might want to check it out if you liked this book... I'm looking forward to the rest of the series (I believe there are 3 books so far and a 4th coming soon). The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron is also a somewhat similar book, although you wouldn't think so at the beginning of the book. ...I seem to keep finding books that remind me of this series. The latest is Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen; Molly and Daniel remind me of Mary and James.

This is such a great mystery series. I love the storyline, the time period, the romance! The author has a really nice writing style and the story is easy to devour in a day. I cannot wait for her last book! I highly recommend her series.

Summary

Perfect quick read! Heroine is super relatable, and the plot is fast-paced. Leaves you questioning and wanting to see where her adventure takes her next. I also appreciated that while romance is a small portion of the book, the majority of the plot focuses on Mary's abilities and her growth as a character.

ForeverLeandraa
Aug 10, 2012

Mary is an orphan and a thief. Stealing to survive is all she knows but at 12 years old she gets caught and sent to the gallows. She is rescued moments before her death sentence by a woman who takes her to Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. After 4 years of a proper education for a girl in Victorian London, she learns the Academy for Girls is really just a cover-up for The Agency. A select group of women that work as spies, Being a previous thief, Mary jumps at the opportunity to start her first mission and use her covert skills again. Posing as a companion for a young girl, Mary is thrown into the home and business of a rich merchant. Looking for clues to any illegal activity proves to be dangerous.

Mary is an orphan and a thief. Stealing to survive is all she knows, but at 12 years old she gets caught and sent to the gallows. She is rescued moments before her death sentence by a woman who takes her to Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy for Girls. After 4 years of a proper education for a girl in Victorian London, she learns the Academy for Girls is really just a cover-up for The Agency, a select group of women that work as spies. Being a previous thief, Mary jumps at the opportunity to start her first mission and use her covert skills again. Posing as a companion for a young girl, Mary is thrown into the home and business of a rich merchant. Looking for clues to any illegal activity proves to be dangerous, and once she meets James it becomes harder to keep her cover. Can she keep her background a secret? Will everything be exposed before she can safely return to the Agency? What about James, is it even possible for Mary to have a romantic relationship? Join Mary in this Historical adventure that promises to leave you wanting more from this soon to be trilogy.